


Two Weeks at the Rhodes' House or No Room for Subpar Sleepovers

by REM_It_Up



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Best Friends, Fluff, Gen, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 08:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7928332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/REM_It_Up/pseuds/REM_It_Up
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony spends his school vacation at the Rhodes' house!</p>
<p>Prompt Fill!</p>
<p>Just a story about Tony staying with Rhodey and his Ma, Roberta. Everything from fort-building to grocery shopping. Time for Roberta to meet her son's BFF.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Weeks at the Rhodes' House or No Room for Subpar Sleepovers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tonystarkrocks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tonystarkrocks/gifts).



> Heads up, I placed this story right after another story of mine, I don't think you really have to read that one to enjoy this one but there you might get more context?
> 
> Here's the link if you want to read it though:  
> [I'm On My Way](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7255018)

By the time they got back to Rhodey’s house it was late at night and everyone was exhausted. His Ma had started to lead Tony to the spare room but Tony had other plans and was quick to speak.

“I’m not going to stay in you room, Sugar Bear?”

Rhodey could see his Ma give him a questioning look at the nickname. “We have a spare room, Tones. You can stay there.”

“But... How are we supposed to have a sleepover in separate rooms?” Tony said, “Now, I’ve never been to a sleepover but I’m pretty sure we need to be in the same room in order to have a proper one.”

“That stands to reason,” he heard his Ma say, Rhodey’s head shot towards her. She was smiling, “You can’t have a sleepover in separate rooms, James”

“Exactly!” Tony smiled broadly his Ma, “Thank you, Ms. Rhodes!”

Roberta smiled back at him, “Please, Tony. You can call me Roberta” 

If possible, Tony’s smile got bigger, “Of course, Roberta.” Tony spun back to Rhodey, who was staring at his Ma, “Lead the way, Rhodey.”

Rhodey, seeing that there was no point in arguing, sighed, “Fine, whatever. Let’s go to bed; I think there’s an airbed in here somewhere.” He started towards the stairs.

“Perfect!” Tony went to grab his bags from the floor, “We can use it for the fort”

Rhodey spun back around, “What fort?”

Tony gave him the same confused look that Rhodey was sure was on his own face, “What do you mean, ‘What fort’? The fort!” Tony gestured widely with his hands, “We need to build a fort!”

“Why?” Rhodey asked

“Because we have to, Rhodey!” Tony actually looked flabbergasted that this was an issue. Which it wasn’t really. Rhodey knew that eventually he was going to fold and they were going to build a fort at one point. But not tonight-- because Rhodey was tired and all he wanted to do was go to sleep.

“Back me up here, Roberta!” Tony turned to his Ma, puppy-eyes and bottom lip out. Rhodey almost snorted out loud; puppy-eyes didn’t work on his--

“I think a fort sounds like a great idea”

“What?!” Rhodey stared at his Ma, betrayed...completely betrayed, in fact

His Ma shrugged nonchalantly but Rhodey could see the amusement in her eyes, “Your friend wants to build a fort, James. You can’t let him down on his first sleepover, now can you?”

Tony was already bouncing in excitement, “We can set it up in your room! What kind of sleepover doesn’t have a fort? Let me tell you, Rhodey, lame ones don’t have forts. Subpar sleepovers... disappointing sleepovers...second-rate sleepovers.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it.” Rhodey groaned, Tony had turned his puppy-dog eyes to him, “Fine! We’ll build a fort.”

Tony fist bumped into the air, “This is going to be the best sleepover ever!”

His Ma was laughing, and Rhodey was pretty sure it was at him, “Here, I’ll get some more blankets and pillows. You can set everything up in James’ room.”

Rhodey watched as his Ma and Tony started up the stairs, Tony excitedly telling her about the fort’s structural support that he had thought about on the ride here.

Rhodey sighed, it was going to be a long night.

\-----------------------------

Rhodey let out a small groan as he started to wake, his eyes blinking open as the tendrils of sleep started to clear from his mind. He knew that it must have been close to six in the morning, his body’s natural alarm was already ingrained, despite the fact that he went to bed late last night. He attempted to roll in his back but he was stopped by a warm lump, that was when he noticed two tight arms wrapped around his middle and long legs entwined with his.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head gently as he tried to detangle himself from his Tony-prison. Once he was free (Tony was still sleeping) he ran his fingers through Tony’s hair fondly before crawling out of their fort.

It was actually bigger than Rhodey expected, spanning half of Rhodey’s room-- Tony had obviously spent a lot of time planning it out earlier. Rhodey stretched and grabbed some clothes before heading to the shower. His Ma was kind enough to cancel training this morning, which was good because Rhodey knew that if he were to step on the mat with his Ma today he would have been beaten-- horribly.

As Rhodey walked to the shower, Tony, who realized that his warm Rhodey Bear was gone, blinked awake. Tony moaned and ran two hands down his face to wake up, throwing an arm over to where Rhodey should have been. Sure enough, Rhodey was gone-- Tony could hear the shower start in the next room-- there he was. Still groaning, Tony crawled out their rather impressive and awesome fort. He stayed where he was until his brain decided to come online, blinking tired and rubbing at his eyes.

Tony glanced around the room as he got his bearings, Rhodey’s room looked exactly like Tony expected it to look like. Air Force posters on the wall, little Star Wars and airplane figurines on the shelves, lots of books, medals and trophies-- Yeah, Tony was definitely going to poke around here later. He could feel a smile spread on his face at the thought of what goodies and secrets he’s going to find.

His stomach growled-- First though, he’s going to get something to eat.

He made his way to the kitchen, bumping into a few walls as he looked everywhere. It was dark last night and, honestly, Tony was so excited about the fort that he wasn’t paying much attention to anything else. Now, Tony took the time to look at his surroundings and-- there were framed medals, certificates and... pictures. A lot of pictures. Tony couldn’t help but look at every one as he walked, most were of Rhodey at various ages. Tony could recognize his smile in the picture of a young boy standing next to a huge plane. He could see Rhodey’s eyes in the picture of a baby boy laying on his stomach looking at the camera. Tony grinned at that one because Rhodey was adorable and he was totally going to tease him about that later.

As he continued to look at every picture, including one Halloween picture where Rhodey was dressed as a Chewbacca-- Awesome. It hit Tony how differently the two grew up. Tony could tell, once he stepped into the Rhodes’ home, how different it was from his own. The Stark Mansion was... empty, at some points it was cold, it was silent. When Tony was growing up he was used to his parents being gone on business trips and to different events that they were required to attend. Tony had Jarvis of course and his _Mamma_ spent as much time as she could with him when she was home...but...It wasn’t like this.

Rhodey’s home was warm, it was comforting-- Tony knew it was going to be different once he landed. When Ms. Rho-- Roberta, upon meeting him for the first time, hugged him tightly as soon as he got off the plane. Tony was shocked for a few seconds, but she didn’t let him go and he was grateful. Keeping him in her warm embrace until Tony finally sunk into it wrapping his arms around her and reveling in her kindness and acceptance-- Rhodey smiled the entire time.

When Tony finally reached the kitchen he saw that he wasn’t alone, Roberta was at the counter drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. She looked surprised when she saw him walk in.

“Tony! I didn’t think you were an early riser.” She said, Tony sat across from her

“I wouldn’t exactly say I’m an early riser,” Tony explained, “My sleeping schedule is all over the place. Sometimes I sleep late, sometimes I get up early, I can go to sleep early, or go to sleep late. It just depends on the day.”

Roberta nodded as she pushed her paper away. Tony was-- worried-- definitely worried about Roberta’s impression of him. He wanted her to like him...He really, really wanted her to like him because she was Rhodey’s mom and it was obvious that the two were really close. He knew that his _Mamma_ liked Rhodey, she had told Tony as much. Of course everyone liked Rhodey, so Rhodey had an unfair advantage. Tony...With Tony he thinks it was easier to dislike him and he knew a lot of people didn’t like him. Either because of his name or because-- honestly, Tony knew it was because he could be a bit smartass-- Not that he was sorry for that. But with Roberta, it would kill him if she didn’t like him.

A bunch of scenarios popped in his head, about Roberta not liking him and kicking him out of her house. Oh God, what if she tells Rhodey to stop being his friend? Would Rhodey do that? Stop being his friend because Roberta told him not to associate himself with Tony? Tony wouldn’t be able to make it without Rhodey...What was he going to do if Rober--

“Tony?” Roberta was looking at him worriedly, his olive skin was slowly becoming more and more pale. She placed her hand on his arm, “Are you okay?”

Tony jolted back, before clearing his throat. His cheeks a bit pink, “Yeah, sorry. I was just...thinking. I’m sorry, did you say something?”

Roberta didn’t push him, “I asked if you wanted some coffee”

Tony’s eyes lit up, “Yes, please.” Tony was on his feet in a second, heading towards the coffee machine. Roberta watched as Tony poured himself a cup, splashed some cold water in it, and then downed the whole thing in one go. She chuckled as he groaned and went to get himself another cup, before he stopped.

“I- I’m sorry” Tony placed the cup on the counter, turning towards her. He looked nervous and... ashamed? “I don’t want to drink all the coffee.”

Roberta immediately brushed his worry off, “Oh, please. Have as much as you like. James’ and I go through a lot of coffee. There’s more than enough for all three of us.”

Tony still looked unsure and she felt a thrum of fondness for the boy, “Here, dear.” Roberta got up and grabbed his mug from the counter filling it back up. Tony took it tentatively, curling slender fingers around it as he looked at her shyly. She grabbed him by the shoulders and led him back to his stool, gently pushing him to sit back down. “There we go.”

Tony gave her a small smile before bringing the mug to his mouth, Roberta could tell her was trying to hide the light blush that had, again, formed on his cheeks. He took a sip and then she saw him look her over, “Are you getting ready to go for a run?”

Roberta was wearing her regular workout attire, sweatpants and a tank top, “I was about to head downstairs to work out.”

She continued at Tony’s curious expression, “I have a little gym set up in the basement. Just a few machines, weights, and a boxing area for James and I.”

Tony’s eyes got big, “You guys box together!?”

Roberta couldn’t help but laugh at his shock, “Taught him everything he knows about fighting.”

“Rhodey’s taking a shower” Tony said, confused, “He’s not working out with you today?”

“I gave him the day off, since we got back so late” Roberta explained, sitting back down, “He wouldn’t be much of an opponent today.”

Tony smiled, “Who usually wins?”

Roberta raised an eyebrow at him, “Who do you think?”

She saw Tony take her in, she knew that her top showed off her arms which, despite her age, were impressive. “You” Tony said, quickly. She smirked back and Tony started laughing, “But Rhodey’s good, right? I’ve se-- I mean...” Tony cleared his throat awkwardly. Obviously stopping before he said something he didn’t want her to know. Roberta made note to ask James, “I mean, with all that training. Rhodey must be good, right?”

Roberta nodded, “James is very good...Not good enough to beat his teacher but he can hold his own...He wasn’t always, of course.”

Tony, who was draining the rest of his coffee stilled, lowering the cup to look at her, “He wasn’t?”

“Of course. I started teaching him boxing when he was 12, because he asked.” Roberta explained, leaning against the counter, “He was too hyper, couldn’t slow down and think about what was happening.”

“Rhodey was hyper?” Tony asked, “I can’t see that. I always figured he was all relaxed and easy going as a kid.”

Roberta chuckled, “I wish. That kid was always getting into trouble. Nothing too serious but he was always getting into everything.” Tony was leaning toward her; she could tell by his body language that he was eager to hear all about James as a kid. She was more than happy to indulge him. “One time, when I was working at an Air Force base, I had to take him with me because my babysitter was sick. James was only 6 at the time but even then he absolutely loved planes and flying. He had this little toy plane that he took with him everywhere, I couldn’t make him put it down for even a minute before he had it back in his hands.”

“Does he still have it?” Tony asked excitedly

“I’m pretty sure it’s still in his room somewhere,” Roberta replied, smiling when Tony laughed, “So, I had to take him with me and at first it was okay. I had my own office so I had him in there with me, leaving him to play ‘Go, Airplane Go’ while I was working.”

“Go, Airplane Go?” Tony questioned

Roberta sighed heavily, “It was a game he made up when he was a child. It basically consisted of him spinning around in a circle as fast as he could with his plane outstretched and yelling ‘Mayday’ as loud as he could.”

Tony laughed loudly, “Really!?”

Roberta shook her head fondly as she thought about it, “I tried to make him stop playing but with no luck. I just made sure he had enough room so he wouldn’t run into anything. I also had to make sure he didn’t just eat, so he didn’t throw up.” She winced, “I learned that the hard way.”

“That’s amazing!” Tony was stretched across the counter giggling

“You only say that because you never had to clean up the mess when he got sick or ran into a tree” Tony started laughing again at the image, “Anyway, after a few hours of working I had to go across the hall to drop something off. I remember I specifically told him not to leave and that I was only going to be gone for a minute. And he nodded at him, all wide-eyed sincerity, promising that he would go anywhere. So I step out, handed a folder to the person right across the hallway...come back...and my son is missing.”

Tony grinned, “How long was he gone?”

“Just over an hour” Roberta deadpanned, “It felt like longer though, the last place I would have wanted a child as curious and adventurous as James walking around unattended is a fully stocked Air Force base.”

“Where did he--?” Tony stopped, eyes lighting up and she stared at him waiting, “He went to see the planes, didn’t he?”

“You know my son well,” She said, watching a pleased smile form on Tony’s face. “Unfortunately the base I was at is enormous and the plane hangar is just as big. We eventually found him in the cockpit of a jet. I have no idea how he got in there but he did.”

Tony was snickering, “I didn’t know Rhodey was such a troublemaker.”

She nodded, “Like I said, he never did anything too bad but he was always getting into everything. There was this one time--”

“What are you guys talking about?” Rhodey asked, when he walked into the kitchen. Freshly showered and already dressed. He was glad Tony and his Ma were talking, because he really wanted her to like Tony, but... Rhodey narrowed his eyes at the two of them. His Ma was smiling at him, taking a sip from her coffee. Tony though-- Tony was grinning at him, biting his lip like he was trying to stop himself from laughing.

He looked back at his Ma, “What did you tell him?”

His Ma just shrugged at him, getting up to take her cup to the sink. Tony spoke up, “She was just telling me about what you were like as a kid.”

Rhodey’s eyes widened in horror, “Ma!”

\-----------------------------

“Now where do we have to go?” Tony asked, getting into the car and buckling his seatbelt, James following after him.

Roberta could tell that he was excited, he was practically bouncing in his seat-- which was strange because all they were doing were running errands. She surprised when Tony jumped at the chance to come with her. She had planned to go by herself, the boys had been playing video games in the living room. When Tony learned that she was going to run some errands he immediately pulled James to his feet and offered to come.

She quickly realized that the reason Tony wanted to go was because he had never had the chance to do it before. The more she and Tony talked the more she learned about his home life. Tony grew up with servants doing everything for him, he had never needed to go grocery shopping or drop off dry-cleaning. He had told her about a man named Jarvis, the family butler that Tony had come to love like family. Told he that sometimes Jarvis had him clean the house with him and taught him a few chores. Her own son was used to it, it’s something he had done with her numerous times before. Tony wanted to go simply because he never had the opportunity to go do something as boring as shopping and going to the bank.

James hadn’t been ecstatic as Tony, but he was going to if Tony wanted to go. She had come to realize just how close the two boys were. She felt nothing but pride towards her son for looking out for Tony and being there for him.

“Well,” Roberta started the car, they already finished most of the errands; just one thing was left, “We have to go grocery shopping and then we’re done”

When Roberta parked outside of the grocery store Tony was the first person out of the car, “This place is huge!”

“I’ve been with you to the store, Tony” Rhodey got out of the car, before opening Roberta’s door. “How can this be exciting for you?”

“I’ve never been grocery shopping though,” Tony defended, “The most we ever do is grab a bunch of food from the school store or that small store outside the campus.”

“What kind of food?” Roberta asked as walked, “You know that junk food is bad for you, right James?”

Rhodey nodded, “Yup, I don’t even eat junk food. Nothing but fruits and vegetables for me, Ma. My favorite food is broccoli.”

“Uh huh.” Roberta looked at Tony who was grinning

When they walked in Tony eyes were moving quickly, trying to take everything in... before landing on the carts. “Can we use one of these?” Tony asked, grabbing one

“Yes,” Roberta started looking for the grocery list in her purse, when she found it she looked up to see James helping Tony into the cart. “Boys...”

James grabbed the bar and smiled at her, “Don’t worry, Ma, I got it.”

“We’re not going to have any room for the groceries” she said, as they started walking

“I’ll get out if you need me too, Ms.--Roberta” Tony said

She sighed, “Okay, but no running around; James?” The last thing she needed were these two racing down the aisles.

“No running around” He repeated, “No worries, Ma”

Turns out she didn’t have anything to worry about because not even ten minutes later, James was helping Tony back out of the cart. Roberta placed a bag of apples in the cart, “What happened?”

Tony was already starting to walk around, “He wanted to look around.” Rhodey explained, watching Tony start picking up different fruits, “I figured he wouldn’t stay in there long, he doesn’t like sitting still.”

“Rhodey!” Tony came back with a plastic container in his hands, “What are these?”

“Kumquats?” Rhodey asked, taking them from Tony, “It’s a citrus fruit. You can eat them whole.”

“Are they good?” Tony asked

They both shrugged “They’re alright,” James said, “They’re a good snack”

“I need them” Tony said, placing them gently in the cart before he went off again, James followed him

This was how most of the shopping trip went, Tony would randomly pick up food he had never seen before, or looked interesting to him. Then he would ask Roberta and James what it was and if it was good, he would usually get it no matter the answer.

Tony was all over the place, coming and going, sometimes James would follow him sometimes he would stay with her. As they walked down the aisles they could see Tony rushing past the ends, usually with multiple things clutched in his hands.

“I wonder what Tony got into” Rhodey said, looking around. It had been at least 10 minutes since Tony had come running up to them.

“He probably just got distracted” Roberta offered, picking up a box from the shelf

“Maybe...” Rhodey looked around, waiting for Tony to come rushing around the corner

“Attention Customers--” The intercom came across the store, a woman speaking clearly “Would a Ms. Rhodes and... Rhodey please come to the front desk. Please come to the front desk.”

“There he is” James placed his hand to his mouth to hide his smile, “I’ll go get him.” She watched amused as James ran toward the front of the store.

He came back later with a sheepish Tony just as she started getting in the checkout line, she raised an eyebrow at him.

Tony rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, “I got confused”

James was trying to stifle his laugh as Tony glared at him and smacked at his arm, “Don’t worry Tony,” He said, grinning, “A lot of little kids get lost in grocery stores, I’m glad you went to an adult for help.”

Tony started slapping at him again but James didn’t pay him any mind, instead helping her load the groceries onto the conveyer belt. Once Tony noticed he started helping as well and when everything was on he started pulling out his wallet.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She said, pointedly looking at Tony

Tony looked at her, confused, “I was gonna...”

“You weren’t going to give me money, were you?” Roberta asked

He fumbled, “A lot of the stuff we got because I wanted it...I at least wanted to help pay for it.”

Roberta waved him off, “If I had a problem with you putting things in the cart, I would have said something.”

Tony still looked unsure, “But I--”

“You’re our guest, Tony. If you really want to pay me back and you can do some chores around the house with James.”

James groaned but Tony perked up, “What kind of chores?”

\-----------------------------

“Tony....” Rhodey said, pulling the wrench from Tony’s hand, “Don’t mess with the lawnmower.”

Tony, who was much-- grassier-- than Rhodey, stood back up from where he was kneeling in the ground, “I’m telling you, Rhodey, I can have this thing purring like a kitten in less than 5 minutes.”

“It doesn’t need to purr like a kitten, Tony” Rhodey argued, “It does the job just fine.”

“I can make it faster!”

“You don’t want to make it faster.” Rhodey pointed out

“Why wouldn’t you want it to go faster? The faster it goes the faster you get done. It just logical, really.” Tony said, waving a screwdriver in Rhodey’s face-- Where the hell did he pull that from?

“You can’t go too fast or not all the will get cut...obviously” Rhodey said, looking at the sporadic patches of long grass on his lawn.

Tony turned to look at the grass too, “It looks fine!”

“Are we looking at the same grass?” Rhodey asked, waving his hand at the lawn, “We’ll have to cut it again.”

“I can do it!” Tony said, grabbing the lawnmower, he bent down and start messing with the length dial

“What are you doing?”

“Why don’t we cut the grass shorter?” Tony looked at him, “It’s another logical thing, Rhodey. Cut the grass short and you won’t have to cut it for a while.” Tony tapped his temple with his finger.

Rhodey mimicked the action, “If you cut the grass too short the sun will burn it, then the grass will turn brown and die.”

Tony threw up his hands, “Why are there so many rules for cutting the grass!?”

“There’s pretty much only those two rules.” Rhodey reached for the lawnmower, “Why don’t I finish cutting the grass and you can edge it?”

“Edge it?” Tony stared blankly at him

“Yeah,” Rhodey pointed at the lawn, “You cut around the grass with a weed whacker.”

“Why?”

“Aesthetics...” Rhodey said, shrugging unashamedly

“Seriously?” Tony asked incredulously

“Seriously” Rhodey grabbed the weed whacker and handed it to Tony, “Just follow the grass”

Tony was still eyeing him, “I feel like you’re messing with me”

“Just edge the lawn, Tony. After you’re done we have to grab the grass-rulers to make sure it’s completely even.”

Rhodey grabbed the lawnmower and started towards the grass, Tony stayed where he was staring at him.

“Are you joking right now?..........Rhodey!”

\-----------------------------

“James?”

Tony and Rhodey both turned their heads toward Roberta, Tony paused the movie they were watching.

“Yeah, Ma?” Rhodey asked, turning his body towards her

“Lila wanted to know if she could come over to see you today.” She said, she was heading into the office for work. Tony asked her everything about her job the last several days he had been there. Roberta was brilliant, not that he was surprised. She had received numerous rewards for saving the Air Force a lot of money. Back that up with the fact that she was one of the few female Generals-- Yeah, she was a badass.

Rhodey immediately lit up, “Of course she can come over!”

“Who’s Lila?” Tony asked

“She’s my younger niece,” Rhodey explained, “I used to babysit her a lot when we were kids. You’re going to love her Tony, she’s really smart and she loves engineering.”

“I like her already,” Tony said, he felt another pang of nervousness...because this was another person who was important to Rhodey, and he wanted to make a good impression. It was an awkward place to be, normally Tony could turn on his natural charm and charisma and win anyone over, but...these were people who meant a lot to Rhodey and he really wanted them to like him. “How old is she?”

“She’s 12” Rhodey said, “Tell her to come on over.”

“I’ll call her before I take off,” Roberta said, “See you boys after work.”

They both waved as she headed out, Tony looked at Rhodey, “Uh..I can...I can stay on the room or something-- If you guys wanted some alone time together.”

Rhodey looked confused, “What are you talking about?”

“I just... I thought maybe you guys wanted to hang out by yourselves? I don’t want to get in the way.” Tony explained. He looked down and started pulling at his sleeves, just so he didn’t have to look at Rhodey.

“Tones--” Rhodey slung his arm around Tony’s shoulders, pulling him close and Tony willingly went; tucking into Rhodey’s side. “You’re not going to get in the way. I want you to meet Lila and I want her to meet you.”

Tony stiffened, biting his lip to keep in the pathetic ‘But why?’ that wanted to come out.... Luckily Rhodey was the best and knew exactly what he was thinking.

“I want you two to meet because you’re both important to me and I really want you guys to get along.” Rhodey said, squeezing Tony closer, “Don’t worry she’s going to love you.”

Tony nodded, not quite believing him-- he was still worried

“Seriously,” Rhodey jostled him, “I wasn’t kidding when I said she’s really smart. She’s going to freak out when she sees the famous Tony Stark. She might even forget I’m home and just bug you the whole time.”

Tony snorted, “Yeah, sure”

“Just you wait.” Rhodey said, Tony looked up to see him grinning, “She’s going to love you”

-*-

The two had spent the time waiting for Lila to arrive talking about her. Rhodey told him all about his too-smart-for-her-own-good niece and how the two became very close while he watched her when they were younger. Rhodey talked about her more like a younger sister than a niece, Tony could see the unconcealed pride in his eyes. He told Tony about how they would spend hours playing anything Lila wanted to play, no matter how embarrassing for Rhodey. (Rhodey shuddered remembering her princess and tea party phase.) All the while Tony was getting more and more anxious about making a good impression, despite Rhodey constantly assuring him that Lila would love him.

Tony was desperate to make sure that she did, much like what Tony did for Roberta on the airplane from his house to Rhodey’s, Tony asked Rhodey question after question about Lila. What here favorite color was, her favorite food, her favorite animal, what she wanted to be when she got older, what kind of music did she like, what was her favorite TV show...basically anything that Tony could know about Lila Rhodes, he did know. By the end of the question section, Tony felt more confident that he would make a good impression. He had pre-thought up topics and answers ready to go whenever she got here-- He was good; he could do this.

The two of them were in the kitchen when the doorbell rang, Rhodey went to answer it, clapping Tony on the shoulder as he went to the door. Tony took in a deep breath waiting in the kitchen as Rhodey opened the door.

“Uncle James!” Tony heard Lila scream. Then he heard a grunt from Rhodey as Lila jumped on him.

“Hey Squirt,” Rhodey replied, hugging Lila tightly as she clung to him, “You look good”

Lila jumped back to the floor, smiled at Rhodey, “So do you! I’ve missed you.”

“Missed you too, Lils,” Rhodey gave her another squeeze before leading her back to the kitchen, “How’s school going?”

“It’s going good!” Lila was practically bouncing, “My teachers were talking about me taking advanced classes because I’ve been doing so well.”

Rhodey grinned proudly, “That’s great, Lils! I thought Ma said something about you just skipping another grade?”

“I was thinking about it but I’m not sure if I want to head to high school yet.” Lila explained, “Enough about my school! How’s MIT? Is it amazing? I bet it is. I bet you see so many amazing things there! Have you built anything cool? Have you built a robot? I want to build a robot! I’ve been drawing up some plans and I was hoping you could look at them because I want to make sure everything is--”

Rhodey chuckled, “Relax, Lils. Of course I’ll look, but you know robots aren’t exactly my department.”

“But you know Tony Stark, right? Auntie said Tony Stark is your best friend and he’s built robots! I read all about them in the newspapers. He’s a genius! I can’t believe you actually know him. Maybe you can ask him to look at them?” Lila turned to him right before they reached the kitchen., clasping her hands together, “Pleeeeease? I wanted to make it for the school science fair.”

Rhodey tilted his head in thought, humming as he considered, “I might be able to do that.”

Lila grinned, “That would be amazing!”

“Or...” Rhodey grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, “You can ask him yourself.”

Tony was standing awkwardly by the kitchen counter, Rhodey could see the faint blush on his cheeks went meant that he heard Lila gushing about him. It was sweet to him flustered.

Tony brought up a hand, waving weakly in hello as Lila gaped at him

Lila was staring at Tony, Rhodey was fighting back a smile-- waiting for what he knew was coming.

Tony was starting to weary-- and slightly uncomfortable-- which was saying something because he was used to getting stared at. He wasn’t, however, used to being stared at by a 12-year-old girl who was staring at Tony like he was.... he was...was...He couldn’t think of anything but in his defense he was being gawked at and his thinking was starting to falter.

“Uh...Are you...?--” Tony started, only to stop when Lila finally blinked and then screamed

“Oh my gosh! It’s Tony Stark!” Lila grabbed Rhodey’s arm, squeezing so hard that it had to hurt but Rhodey didn’t even flinch, “Look, look! Uncl--It’s Tony Stark! He’s standing in your kitchen! Do you see him?!”

“I see him, Lils,” Rhodey laughed, patting her hand

“Is this real? Am I dreaming?” Lila asked, wide eyes still trained on Tony, who was starting to blush again-- Damn it, pull yourself together, Tony

“You’re not dreaming” Rhodey answered, “He’s standing right there”

“Why is he here? I didn’t know he was coming!” Lila gushed, “He wasn’t always here, Auntie would have told me.”

“It was sort of...last minute” Rhodey explained, rubbing the back of his head, “He just got here several days ago.”

Tony stayed where he was, they were talking about him-- Should he join the conversation? Was it weird that he was just standing here? He should probably talk...Yeah, that would be good. Use one of your pre-thought up topics, you thought of at least 20. Ask her about engineering, Yes! That would be an excellent opening question. Speak:

“Hi, I’m Tony,” ‘Smooth, Tony, brilliant’, he thought, annoyed with himself and his dazzling speaking skills. What happened to being prepared?! Rhodey snorted at him, a wide grin on his face.

Luckily Lila didn’t seem to mind, the next second she was standing in front of him. Tony jumped in surprise at the sudden closeness, she was beaming up at him.

“Hi, I’m Lila Rhodes!” She stuck out her hand to him

Tony grabbed her hand, shaking and noting that the small, slender fingers that, even at her young age, bare the same callouses and tiny healed-over nicks that are on his own hands. She was an engineer.

“It’s really amazing to meet you, Mr. Stark!” Lila exclaimed, grabbing his hand with both of hers, “I’m a big fan of yours! You’re like...one of my engineering idols.”

Tony’s mouth curved into a shy smile, “Tony, please. Thank you, it’s really nice to meet you too. Rhodey told me all about you.”

Lila finally dropped his hand, her head tilted and she considered him with a questioning smile, “Rhodey?”

“That’s what he calls me,” Rhodey explained, walking to sit at the counter, “Apparently he didn’t like James or Jim. It’s just one of the many names he calls me.”

“I like it!” Lila said, looking at Rhodey, “It fits.”

“Right?” Tony nodded, “He likes it”

Rhodey shrugged, “I’ve warmed up to it, better than some of the other names you’ve come up with.”

“Don’t act like you don’t like those too, Platypus.” Tony leaned against the counter

Lila laughed as Rhodey rolled his eyes, “Can’t get anything past you, can I?”

“Yet you still try, Honey Bear” Tony’s grin only widened when Lila giggled at the name

“Anyway,” Rhodey gestured at Lila, “Didn’t you have some questions for Tony, Lils?”

“Oh, yes!” Lila slung her bag off of her shoulders, opening it to dig inside, “I was hoping you could look at these for me.”

Tony sidled closer to Lila, Rhodey could read the curiosity on his face, “Look at what?”

“Aha!” Lila said triumphantly, pulling a decent sized Manilla folder from her bag, “These.”

She started pulling papers from the folder, placing them on the counter, spreading them out. There was schematics of different robots, circuit boards, equations, and whatever else drawn across different papers. Most were on lined paper, but some were scribbled on napkins, while others looked to be written on corners that were torn off different papers. Rhodey started to piece together what he was looking at; this may not be forte but after being friends with Tony he was starting to pick up robotics.

Tony was already one step ahead, looking at everything with a critical eye while Lila looked at him nervously with bated breath, obviously waiting for his opinion.

“This is pretty good,” Tony mumbled, grabbing another piece of paper, “It’s really good...”

Lila was practically shining, “Really?”

Tony nodded, grinning at her-- he was impressed. “There’s a few things I can help you with, but you have the main system all figures out it seems. This is for a... science fair?”

“Yeah,” Lila sat besides Rhodey, tapping the papers with her finger, “You see, I want to start a robotics club at school and to do that I need at least 8 people and a teacher. I already have the teacher signed but I need more students. I figure what’s a better way to promote a new robotics club then to win the science fair with a robot?”

Rhodey grinned, “Well, you can’t argue with that.”

“No, you can’t.” Tony drew himself up, “Rhodey and I are gonna make sure you have the best robot that school had ever seen!”

“Yay, Tony and Rhodey!” She cheered, giggling when Rhodey rolled his eyes at the nickname.

Tony grabbed all the papers, “Come on, Rhodey, to the fort!”

“You guys have a fort?!” Lila asked, excitedly as she followed Tony to their room

Rhodey heaved a sigh but he was entertained as trailed behind them, both of them talking and laughing together like they’ve known each other for years.

-*-

Roberta finally returned home hours later, tired from crunching numbers all day. The house was quiet, which was a little unsettling. She knew from her brother that Lila had been with James and Tony all day, she had expected them to be watching a movie or playing games in the living room. The room, however, was silent-- it hadn’t looked like it had been used at all. She was about to call for them when she thought she heard movement upstairs.

She started up the stairs and the closer she got the more voices she heard-- mostly Tony and Lila who were laughing about something.

“Anyway!” She heard Lila saying, she was clearly trying not to start laughing, Roberta could hear it in her voice, “Rhodey helped me get my kite into the air and then he tried to get his kite in the air. My mom offered to help him but he was stubborn and insisted that he could get the kite up by himself.”

“I was able to get it up by myself!” Rhodey said. Roberta was standing right outside the door

“Only for a second!” Lila snickered, “You see it was pretty windy and Rhodey had the great idea that if he could run fast enough then the kite would fly up by itself.”

“UGH!” James groaned, Roberta knew his face was probably in his hands

“So, initially it did start to fly off the ground! It got about two feet and then James stopped looking and just took off!” Lila stopped and started chuckling to herself

“What happened?” Tony asked excitedly. Roberta could still hear James’ muffled groaning.

“That was the highest the kite got and it crashed back to the ground but...” Lila snickered, “He didn’t know. So he was running all around the park with his kite dragging behind him on the ground!”

Tony and Lila both fell into laughter, “And... and...” Lila attempted to continue, “He was screaming and yelling, running all over the place thinking his kite was in the air. My mom and I were dying!”

“Oh my God, Rhodey!” Tony was cracking up, “Were there a lot of people there?”

Lila didn’t speak but she must have nodded because Tony immediately started laughing again, “Eventually he looked behind him and saw his kite on the ground and he just stopped, but he was running around like a maniac for, like, at least 5 minutes...”

“You could have tried to tell me!” James mumbled

“We couldn’t stop laughing!” Lila tittered, “He just grabbed his kite and went back to the car, didn’t even say anything.”

Tony and Lila fell into another round of laughter, even Roberta had to cover her mouth not to laugh.

“I don’t even know why I wanted you guys to meet” James grumbled over their amusement

“I loooove you, Rhodey!” Lila said, Roberta heard a loud smacking kiss

“I love you too, Rhodey!” Tony apparently tried to kiss James too

“Ew, get off, Tony!” James was laughing, “No!”

Roberta stepped into the doorway to see them all sitting in the fort. Tony trying to kiss James’ cheek and James leaning back with his arms outstretched trying to find Tony off. Lila was giggling at their antics safely from the other side of the fort.

“Everything okay in here?” Roberta asked, amused

“Auntie!” Lila shot off the floor to give her a hug

“Hi, Ma” James waved, which gave Tony enough room to squeeze in and kiss his cheek, “Tony!”

Tony quickly got off as Rhodey swung at him, “Hi, Roberta!”

“Hello, everyone. Glad to see everyone is having fun.” She said, “Did you guys spend all day retelling James’ greatest moments?”

Lila chuckled, “Not all day but Tony was curious about Rhodey as a kid”

“You guys are the worse” James said, looking at both Lila and Roberta-- looks like he still hadn’t forgiven her for the airplane story-- Oops.

She winked at his pouting face, “Come on, Lila. I told your parents I would drop you off.”

Lila looked disappointed, “Okay,” James and Tony helped her gather her things, she grabbed her things and turned to Tony, “Thank you for all your help with the robot.”

“You’re welcome” Tony replied, sincerely, “You are definitely going to win the science fair and then everybody is going to want to join your club.”

Lila beamed, “Everyone is going to be so jealous”

“They ought to be” James gave her a big hug, “Call me and tell me what happens, okay?”

Lila squeezed him back, “I will, thanks for your help, Uncle Rhodey!”

Rhodey chuckled at the name before letting her go, Tony stepped up

“It was really great meeting you, Lila” He said, “And if you have any questions about anything, go ahead and give me a call, okay?”

Lila stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug, Tony was shocked for only a second before hugging her back. Roberta and James shared a warm look over their heads.

One more squeeze and they let go, Tony had a soft smile pulling at his lips, “Bye Lila”

“Bye, Uncle Tony!” She gave James and Tony a quick kiss on the cheek before she followed Roberta out the room.

Tony looked a little shocked and Rhodey knocked his should with Tony’s, “Told you she would like you.”

Tony’s smile was one of the brightest Rhodey had ever seen.

\-----------------------------

“What are you doing?” Tony asked, watching Rhodey curiously

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Rhodey replied, throwing more clothes into a pile

“You are...separating your laundry?” Tony looked at the three piles on the floor

“You really are a genius” Rhodey smirked

“But why are you sorting the laundry?” Tony huffed, putting his own basket of clothes on the ground, “Don’t you just throw everything in together?”

Rhodey stopped and stared at Tony, “Have you never done the laundry?”

Tony just stared at him, “Hi, my name is Tony Stark, I grew up in a mansion with servants who did everything for me.” Tony reached out his hand, laughing when Rhodey swatted it away

“I thought Jarvis taught you some chores?” Rhodey asked

Tony nodded, “He did but I’ve never done the laundry. I usually just helped him dust and stuff, besides Jarvis never did the laundry.”

“What about at school?” Rhodey said, “How do you get clean clothes?”

“My parents pay a maid to come in every week and do all the cleaning and stuff” Tony said, like it was obvious

Rhodey stared at him again, “Well, you’re in luck. I am going to teach you how to do the laundry.”

Tony shrugged, “Okay, what do I do first?”

Rhodey smiled, pleased that Tony was willing to learn, “First, separate. Whites, darks, and lights.” He said, pointing to each pile

“Such creative names” Tony mumbled, throwing a pair of jeans in the dark pile

Rhodey ignored the comment and continued sorting his laundry

“So why don’t you just throw everything in the same washer?” Tony asked, throwing a shirt, “Isn’t this a bit much?”

“If you throw everything in together the colors can bleed into each other, specifically the white and light colors.” Rhodey explained, “Also, in the white pile you put in bleach and bleach can seriously ruin any colored clothes.”

“Oh,” Tony tossed shorts over Rhodey’s head, “I didn’t know there was a right and a wrong way to do laundry.”

“You didn’t even know there was one way to do laundry” Rhodey said, laughing when Tony threw a shirt at him

“Where do I put these?” Tony asked after a few moments of silence

Rhodey turned to see Tony holding up a pair Captain America boxers, “Uh, dark.”

Tony frowned, “But it has white on it”

“Yeah, but only a little bit of white. If you put it in the whites the red and the blue will get ruined by the bleach.” Rhodey said

“It’s kinda light though” Tony said, shaking them, “Maybe they should go in the light pile?”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow, “The light pile is for pastels colors; pink, light blue, yellows...that kind of stuff.”

Tony stared at the boxers in his hand and Rhodey turned to sort his laundry again, “But it has white on it.”

“Tony...” Rhodey sighed, turning back to him, “What’s the problem?”

“I just don’t want to mess them up, this is my favorite pair of underwear!” Tony said, holding the boxers to his chest

“If they get messed up, not that they will, you can just buy another pair.” Rhodey said

Tony looked betrayed, “But THIS is my favorite pair!”

Rhodey sighed again and turned to dig in his basket, when he found what he was looking for he turned back around. Tony stared at the garment clutched in Rhodey’s hand and grinned.

“Here, I am going to put my Captain America boxers in the dark pile, now if yours get ruined, so will mine.” Rhodey threw them into the dark pile, “Then we’ll both lose our favorite boxers, okay?”

“Deal” Tony smiled, throwing them into the pile

Rhodey rolled his eyes fondly before turning back around, Tony was so high-maintenance.

\-----------------------------

“Okay, take your stance” Roberta said, standing in front of Tony

Tony took a deep breath and got into the boxer stance, dropping his foot and putting up his fists. Red boxing gloves tucked close to his face, chin down, knees bent, little more than should-length apart. He nodded at her when he was ready.

For the past few days Tony had been working out with Rhodey and Roberta in the morning. At first all he had been doing was watching, he wasn’t a big fan of the weights or the running, but he was drawn to the boxing. The first time he saw Rhodey and Roberta box in the ring he could feel the excitement in his chest as they danced around each other. And that’s what it was-- it was dance-- and Tony entranced. He had started asking Rhodey a bunch of questions about boxing, from stance and breathing to defense and footwork. When Roberta noticed that he was asking a lot of questions she offered to teach Tony.

Tony immediately agreed.

Roberta quickly brought him up to speed about the basics, taught him the different punches, taught him how to throw them right. Tony didn’t mean to brag, okay he kind of did, but Tony was catching on pretty quick. They’ve spent most of their time on the heavy bag, but Roberta promised that she would have him in the ring before vacation was over.

“Looks good, Tony. Perfect Stance” Roberta walked around him

Rhodey was gone, he said he needed to do cardio and instead of running on the treadmill he decided to run around the neighborhood. That was awhile ago and Tony was definitely feeling the workout. His shirt wasn’t drenched but it was wet, he was breathing hard, and starting to feel a little sore. Roberta made sure he never worked himself dead tired, which he was often prone to do when he started to get serious about something, Rhodey must have told her. She was constantly telling him to calm down, throw lighter punches, and drink more water.

“Let’s do some combos and then we can stop for the day, okay?”

“Sounds good” Tony said, stepping up to the heavy bag

Roberta stood behind the bag, bracing herself behind it, “Ready?”

Tony nodded, lowering his chin, “Ready”

“Jab, jab, cross” She said

Tony threw each one, making sure he never held his breath and breathed out harshly through his nose with each punch.

“Hook, cross, hook”

Pivot, breath, watch your head

“Jab, hook, uppercut”

Long jab, short hook, short uppercut

“Jab, jab, cross, hook, jab”

Long jab, breath through the nose, bring your fists right back to the stance position

After a few more combos, Roberta tapped the bag, “Okay, no more for today, you did a great job today, Tony. You’re catching on quickly; you’ll be dominating the ring in no time.” Roberta smile at him, “Make sure you stretch out, okay? I don’t want you to cramp.”

Tony dropped his hands, pleased by her compliments, “Okay, thanks, Ma”

Tony froze, “I- I mean Ms.-- I mean Roberta! Roberta.” Tony’s face was red, well that’s embarrassing. Tony turned away from her, fumbling to take off his gloves and wraps, even though he knew it was an impossible task without any help. He was even considering just leaving and waiting for Rhodey to help him with his gloves.

The choice was taken away from him when a gentle hand landed on one of his gloves, Tony bit his lip but didn’t look up.

“Let me help, Tony” Roberta said, soothingly

Tony nodded but didn’t speak

Roberta watched Tony as she untied his gloves, he was embarrassed-- not that she could completely understand. She wasn’t offended when he called her Ma, she wouldn’t have even noticed of not for Tony’s reaction. Every day she spent with this boy she was learning just how affection-starved he was. She knew to some degree, unbeknownst to Tony to even James, Roberta talked to Maria Stark often. They talked almost every day and through their talks Roberta discovered more about Tony’s personal life. More about how Jarvis, Peggy, and Maria tried to be there for Tony but in the end Howard’s presence was to great and Tony spent a majority of his life trying to be enough for Howard.

It was no wonder James was so protective towards Tony-- and yes, she heard about the punch from Maria. Roberta was shocked at first and tried to apologize but Maria brushed it off-- which led her to believe that Howard deserved it.

Words were not enough to tell how proud she was of James

Tony had yet to look up, “Tony, look at me.”

Tony looked up slowly, eyes guarded-- like he was worried that she was going to be angry or worse, kick him out.

Oh Tony...

Roberta reached up, brushing a damp strand of hair from his forehead before rubbing off his sweat-slicked forehead. She leaned toward him and pressed her lips to his forehead gently, staying there for a moment, attempting to ensure Tony that everything was alright.

When she pulled back Tony was staring at her with wide hopeful eyes, she cupped his cheek, “It’s okay, hun. You can call me whatever you want, okay?” She felt Tony press into her palm, “Okay?” She repeated

“Okay” He replied softly

She smiled and patted his cheek, “Now, hurry up and stretch, before you cool down. I wasn’t joking, you’ll cramp if you don’t stretch out.”

Tony smiled back shyly, “Whatever you say, Ma”

\-----------------------------

“Rhodey? You awake?”

“No,” Rhodey mumbled, burrowing into his pillow

“Rhodey?” Tony whispered again. Rhodey felt him press closer to his back, “Did you hear that?”

“There’s no one here, Tony” Rhodey exhaled

“That’s what they want you to think!” Tony whispered urgently

He knew it, he told Tony they shouldn’t watch the Poltergeist right before bed but Tony was adamant that he would be fine and that they had to watch a scary movie because it was part of the entire sleepover experience-- And here they were. Tony spent a lot of the movie with his face hidden behind a pillow. Rhodey was surprised that Tony even saw enough of the movie to scare him.

“What was that!?” Rhodey felt Tony wrap his arms around him and felt him push his face into Rhodey’s back.

“I didn’t hear anything, Tony” Rhodey said, placing one of his hands on Tony’s for comfort

“In the movie Carol Anne was the only one that could hear them!” Tony pulled his hand free to pull the blankets over his head before grabbing Rhodey’s hand again

“Are you telling me the ghosts are only talking to you, Tony?” Rhodey yawned

“I’m telling you I heard something!” Tony squeaked

“Do you want me to turn the light on?” Rhodey asked, he had trouble sleeping with any light on but if Tony needed it he would try

“No....no....just...” Tony stammered, “Just turn around, I’ll feel better if I can see you.”

Tony back up just enough that Rhodey could flop onto his back before turning towards him, eyes still closed. Tony immediately wrapped his arms back around Rhodey and tucked his face into his chest.

“Better?” Rhodey pulled Tony close to his chest and rested his head on Tony’s; his fluffy brown locks tickling his nose.

Tony nodded, “Thanks, Rhodey.”

“You’re welcome, Carol Anne”

“......You’re not funny, Rhodey”

\-----------------------------

Tony tried to stay quiet as he worked his way downstairs, it was Saturday. Rhodey and Ma were still sleeping, because Saturday was a rest day and that meant no early morning workout. Which meant it was the perfect day to put his plan into motion. There were only a few more days until vacation was over and that meant Rhodey and he were going to be heading back to school. Tony had been considering doing this for a while and it was now or never, today way the day-- he was going to make breakfast for Rhodey and Ma. 

He admits that he felt a bit overwhelmed when he stepped into the kitchen, even more overwhelmed when he looked into fridge.

“Okay...okay.” Tony said to himself, trying to psych himself up, “You can do this, it’s just making breakfast.”

Tony looked in the cupboards and found the pancake mix that he spotted yesterday, he read the directions on the back of the box. There were only 3 ingredients. “Oh yeah, I can make pancakes.”

-*-

“I can’t even make pancakes.” Tony grumbled through clenched teeth. He was mixing his fourth batch of pancake mix and by now he was desperate. His first batch tasted awful, which he didn’t understand how because there were only three ingredients.

Three. Freakin’. Ingredients.

The second batch was an anomaly...because no matter how long Tony left them on the griddle they would not cook. Every time Tony poked at them they stayed their irritating runny pale mixture. Tony had considered taking apart the stove and messing with the heating element, but he remembered that he promised Rhodey he wouldn’t tinker with any more household appliances after the microwave fiasco. Which wasn’t really a fiasco, Rhodey’s just dramatic, regardless that microwave can pop popcorn in 30 seconds and Rhodey should be thanking him.

After tossing out that perplexing second batch, Tony started on his third batch...which-- ended up on the floor and the front of his shirt after he tripped over a measuring cup.

Now, after cleaning up the best he could (there may have been a little crying involved), he started on his fourth batch. He poured his fourth batch, turning the heat up before he turned back to the counter to get the sausage links he found in the fridge. They were sitting on the counter, which was a complete mess, including pancake mix (both wet and dry), eggs, milk, syrup, and measuring cups. He started looking at the package, trying to find heating directions. He found two, one for the microwave and one for the stove. He glanced at the stove--yeah-- he didn’t want to mess with that anymore then he had to.

Which meant he would have to use the microwave, which was perfect because he can show Rhodey just how well the StarkWave (Stark Microwave) worked.

He poked at the pancakes-- they were cooking. He nodded and headed toward the StarkWave. Let’s see, they’re precooked which means they don’t have to go in as long. About 30- 50 seconds...but in the StarkWave it should only be a matter of seconds. Tony shrugged and popped the package into the microwave and put it in for 10 seconds.

He pressed start and headed back to his precious pancakes, when he smelt something. Tony jumped when he heard a loud ‘pop’ come from the microwave. He ran back and pried the microwave open, the sausages had...exploded. Bits of meat and plastic were caked on the inside of the StarkWave.

“Are you kidding me?” Tony looked at what was left of the sausages in incredulity, “Are you kidding me?!”

Tony reached in to grab the indistinguishable package in the middle of the plate-- which was a huge mistake because it was scorching. Tony yelped and dropped the package, bringing his hand to his mouth as his fingers tingled. The package fell to the floor with a disgusting ‘squish’ and Tony just stared at it.

Why the hell was making breakfast so har-- What was that smell?

The pancakes!

Tony turned to see smoke rising from the pancakes, that were bubbling on top. Tony ran back to the stove, he rushed to get the griddle off the stove but he moved to quick and managed to bump into the bowl of pancake mix next to the stove. Tony desperately tried to grab the bowl before it could spill but he watched in horror as it ran across the stove. Pancake mix oozing over the stovetop and eventually dripping down the cabinets. Tony barely remembered to turn off the fire as he looked at the mess around him.

How could this get any wo-- The smoke alarm above the stove started beeping.

He may actually start crying...Yup, he was going to cry.

“Tony?” He heard behind him, Rhodey ran into the kitchen, avoiding the mess and pulling the alarm off the wall to shut it off. “What...happened?”

Tony was...Tony was covered-- Rhodey saw some kind of white powder in his hair, pancake mix was splattered on his shirt and on his arms. He had...egg? Was that egg on his sweatpants? The kitchen was a mess, Rhodey couldn’t even... Oh, Tony was really upset.

“Tones?” He said softly, taking a tentative step towards Tony. “You okay?”

Tony’s face crumpled and Rhodey was quick to wrap his arms around him, not even thinking about the mess that was now getting on his own clothes. Tony wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his face in his neck as he started talking.

Most of the words came out garbled as he spoke into Rhodey’s skin, but he could make out a few words. “...wanted to make...thought pancakes...be easy...four times...sausages...StarkWave too hot...spilled the...”

Rhodey shushed him, “It’s alright, Tony”

“It’s not okay!” Tony cried, his grip tightened on Rhodey but he pulled his face away so he could speak, “I can’t even make pancakes! I made a mess in the kitchen and now Ma is going to get angry and...”

“Tony!” Rhodey interrupted, “I think we’ve already established that Ma has a soft spot for you and couldn’t get angry at you no matter what you did.” He felt Tony shrug, so he continued, “Besides pancakes are the trickiest breakfast food out there, the evilest in fact. Don’t even get me started on waffles. I would have started with scrambled eggs or cereal, they’re much nicer.”

“Shut up” Tony mumbled, but Rhodey felt him chuckle. Squeezing him tighter, Rhodey waited for Tony to pull himself together before pulling back. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, brushing at his eyes and succeeding in getting more pancake mix on his face, “I’m surprised Ma didn’t come down.”

“Yeah,” Rhodey smirked, “I woke up earlier and you weren’t there, so I figured you were making breakfast or something.” At Tony’s look he explained, “I saw you looking at the pancake mix yesterday. I ran into Ma in the hallway when I heard the smoke alarm but I told her I’d handle it and that she should go back to bed...until we tell her it’s okay to come out.”

Tony laughed, “Good call”

“Give me some credit” Rhodey scratched at his head as he looked over the kitchen, “Why don’t we clean this up and then we can make some breakfast...” Rhodey’s eyes finally landed on the microwave, “Or if this takes too long we can make lunch.”

-*-

In the end they made French toast and served it to Ma in bed...-- Tony also spent a good chunk of the day fixing the StarkWave.

\-----------------------------

“Do you have everything packed? I don’t want you to forget anything.” Roberta was hugging both Tony and Rhodey tightly as their pilot waited on the runway. It was finally time for the two to head back to school and Maria had set up their return flight.

“We got everything, Ma” Rhodey said, for the 10th time

“You even checked our bags, remember?” Tony laughed

Roberta sighed and let them go, “You’re right, I know.” She grabbed both of their hands, “You boys take care, okay?”

“I’ll think of you the entire time,” Rhodey replied, squeezing her hand, Tony nodded

“And you boys keep looking out for each other, okay?” Roberta looked them both in the eye

“Always, Ma” Tony promised

“Mr. Stark, Mr. Rhodes?” The pilot called, “We ought to be going now.”

“You two better get going.” Roberta said, she reached for Rhodey first. Pulling him into a tight hug. “I am so proud of you,” She whispered to him, “You call me at least 2 times a week, just to let me know how you’re doing.”

“I will, Ma.” Rhodey hugged her back and Roberta kissed his cheek before turning to Tony. 

She pulled him into a hug just as tight and Tony clung to her, “You take care too Tony, you hear?”

“Yeah, Ma...”, Tony paused before resuming, “Thanks for letting me stay with you guys.” 

She pulled back and took Tony’s face in her hands, “You make sure you come back to visit too. You’re welcome here anytime, okay?”

Tony felt warmth blossom in his chest as he placed his hands on top of hers, “Thanks, Ma.” He whispered, not trusting himself to talk louder or say anymore.

There was no need because Roberta just smiled and pressed a kiss to Tony’s forehead, she took a step back. “You boys get going before it gets too late.”

A final hug and Rhodey and Tony walked to their plane, waving before they walked in and took their seats. They both watched as the plane started and they started heading out, Tony watched as they flew into the sky and he couldn’t see Ma anymore.

“You okay, Tones?” Rhodey asked, softly

Tony cleared his throat, “Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” He took a deep breath, “Thanks, by the way, for everything.”

Rhodey reached over the seat to grab his hand, “You’re welcome, Tony.”

“I, uh- I got you something...” Tony said, bending down to dig into his bag

“Tony...” Rhodey said, shaking his head, “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Don’t worry, it’s small” Tony waved his hand at him, “Just a little something to say thanks. Close your eyes.”

Rhodey eyed him in suspicion, “Why?”

Tony’s head popped back up, “Come on! Close your eyes, it’s a surprise.”

Rhodey sighed but closed his eyes, “Fine.” He heard rustling before he felt something light get placed on his lap.

“Open your eyes!” Tony said excitedly, Rhodey could tell that something was up

Rhodey opened his eyes to see a narrow tube sitting on his lap, “What is this?” He flipped it around and saw the picture on the side. His eyes narrowed “Is this a kite?”

Tony started laughing even as Rhodey started hitting him with his stupid kite.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Tonystarkrocks for the prompt!
> 
> I really hope you like it and thank you for your patience!


End file.
